ASU's Research Magazine Eliminating 22-Year-Old Print Publication

Arizona State University's award-winning, full-color Research magazine will publish its last issue in March -- another apparent victim of cost-cutting in the face of economic troubles.

"We have been told to re-invent ourselves," says Conrad Storad, the ASU employee who started the magazine in 1986 with graphic designer Michael Hagelberg. "I'm still in a daze."

Storad was director of ASU Research Publications until last week -- the office itself was eliminated, though employees will retain their jobs under a different department. The twice-a-year magazine last published in August and its fall/winter issue has been canceled. A "grand finale" edition will come out in March as a tribute to the magazine and its many readers, who hail from all 50 states and 49 countries, Storad says.

The magazine's Web version will continue, but Storad (right) lamented that the computer version doesn't do as good of a job displaying the print publication's "beautiful, vibrant" photography and artwork. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education in Washington D.C. awarded a gold medal to the publication this year for being the best university research magazine in the country.

While Storad complains he's losing his "baby," those who have come across the magazine will undoubtedly also mourn its passing. More than simple public relations, the stories and illustrations explained the complicated science behind ASU research projects in a way that anyone could understand. That, in turn, helped connect ASU to the greater community. -- Ray Stern

Ray has worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won many awards awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.